William Shakespeare is Britain's millennial superstar, according to listeners of BBC radio, polled to choose the most important person of the past 1,000 years.

Reuters reported that the Bard of Stratford beat World War II-era prime minister Winston Churchill by a hair in a poll that caused much debate in Great Britain over the New Year holiday.

Others felt that Charles Darwin or Isaac Newton was more important and should have been dubbed "Man of the Millennium."

Reuters quoted acclaimed Shakespearean actress Judi Dench as saying this of Shakespeare: "He is known in our house as the gentleman who pays the rent."

In the U.S., the Tom Stoppard co-scripted film, "Shakespeare in Love," a favorite among theatre buffs for its rollicking fictionalization of Shakespeare's creative process and time, made it to the top 10, grossing $3.2 million over the New Year's weekend. -- By Kenneth Jones